Posts Tagged ‘Nana Patekar’

Nana Patekar, the 58-year-old actor, who is currently shooting for the Kannada film Yaksha, has learnt the language to dub his lines.

However, learning a South Indian language for the Marathi-Hindi speaking actor is not a cakewalk. Nana says, “It is a challenge to learn a new language. But what is life if you don’t create new challenges for yourself? I have always done what I wanted to do in life. When I agreed to do my first South Indian film, I decided I will speak my own lines. Why should I allow some other person to speak for me? I have been working hard, getting the accent right. It’s a complicated process. However, one is never too old or too young to learn something new.”

Although Nana is tight-lipped about his role in the film, according to sources, Nana plays a messiah of the down-trodden, the kind of character that he played in Mehul Kumar’s Krantiveer (1994).

Bharati Dubey | TNN (THE TIMES OF INDIA; January 3, 2010)

Pursue excellence and success will pursue you,’’ was what Aamir Khan’s character philosophised in 3 Idiots. But when the lights dimmed and audiences sat down after the National Anthem, what greeted them on screens for most part of the year was average, even poor fare, making 2009 the annus horribilis of the first decade of the 21st century. More than 200 films, with Rs 1500 crore at stake, released last year but almost Rs 1000 crore sank in the sea of mediocrity without a bubble, the sharks-andsexy bikini Blue leading the pack.
Added to it was the multiplex strike which cost around Rs 350 crore, upset release dates forcing films to share Fridays and dent each others’ collections. A multiplex source said, “Cannibalisation caused by big films’ release dates clashing could have been avoided.’’

The year began with Chandni Chowk To China that lost 50% of its Rs 65-crore budget. And marketing blitzkreigs couldn’t save a Blue and Kambakkht Ishq and the audience clearly showed content was king with surprise hits like DevD, New York, WaKe Up Sid and Ajab Prem ki Gajab Kahani. DevD made Rs 6 crore, collected Rs 25 crore at the box office while its ancillary rights made another Rs 5 crore and there are still more satellite runs to be sold. Trade experts also put films like Love Aaj Kal, Ajab Prem ki Gajab Kahani, Wanted among the certified hits, followed by profitable films like Paa, All The Best, De Dana Dan and Raaz 2.

But Bollywood’s loss was Hollywood’s gain, with films like 2012 and Avatar (that collected a whopping Rs 50 crore so far) filling the void for good entertainment.

It was left to And Aamir Khan to play Santa Claus third year in a row, with 3 Idiots the biggest hit of the year. It grossed a phenomenal Rs 100 crore in India in the first four days, and Rs 175 crore worldwide till December 31, even denting into collections of Avatar. Trade analyst Amod Mehra said, “What Ghajini collected in a week, this film has done in three days.

Corporates didn’t really have a great year in 2009 and after the bloodbath in the first half of the year, most of them avoided buying films outright, with even 3 Idiots being released on commission.

Thus 2010 dawns to vastly altered realities — purse strings have tightened by cautious corporates; big banners are no guarantee for success and may dish out big turkeys instead; marketing and stars don’t sell, a good story does; and the days of astronomical fees are over.

“Audiences are very smart, the content ultimately will guide their choices and approval. Marketing and hype will only work if content supports that hype. We may not have a Blue this year but projects like Veer and Prince are costly and prima facie look difficult in terms of recoveries,’’ says a trade expert.

So when Akshay Kumar, blamed for soaring star prices, announced towards the end of 2009 that he would not charge any fee for Farah Khan’s Tees Maar Khaan, it was a lifeline for the industry that had almost gone into the ICU.

Says Amod Mehra, “It is not that people did not come to watch Akshay Kumar films in 2009, it is just that the budgets of the films were so high and his remuneration was almost 40% of those budgets, so recoveries were not possible despite a good opening. But now that the actors are looking at sharing profit with the producer after the cost of the film has been recovered like in the case of Aamir Khan’s 3 Idiots then it will be fair enough. Cutting down of star prices will definitely reduce the budget of films and they will become viable and that is definitely going to be the trend in 2010.”

The year thankfully doesnt have a Rs 100-crore Blue in its line-up. Last year most production houses scrapped films as star prices were not viable. In fact, it is learnt Saif Ali Khan is reworking the budget of his next film Agent Vinod starring Kareena and himself. In fact, 2010 is short on mega projects as budget constraints ensured very few got on the floors in 2009.

The first biggie of 2010 will be Veer, followed by Rann, My Name is Khan, Action Replay, Kites and House Full in the first half of the year. The second half of the year would have Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Guzarish and Patiala House.

The action in 2010 seems definitely more in mid-size and multiplex projects that would have strong and clutterbreaking content. “There are a lot of films this year that may not topline the Khans or Hrithik Roshan but still have a decent line-up of names and would be thematically different. Tight budgets and good content seem to be the mantra in the decision making corridors of Bollywood. Each company is carefully evaluating its options and are not getting carried away,’’ says Priti Shahni of Indian Films. Corporates, for instance, have decided to take films only on commission, and not buy them outright.

Farhan Akhtar’s next film is a story of a lovable loser whose chance meeting with his namesake changes his life forever. Karthik Calling Karthik has a star-studded credit list which includes Deepika Padukone, Javed Akhtar and Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy. Considering Farhan acts in the movies he either directs or produces, it seems like he is bent on wanting to typecast himself as the underdog. Weird but true!

My name is Khan

Bollywood’s biology lessons continue with My Name Is Khan. With 9/11 as the backdrop, the movie follows Rizwan Khan (SRK) who suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome. This is an autistic disease that makes the victim devoid of empathy. This, of course will give rise to many comical situations, just like Paa did. The film brings together the electrifying pair of Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol back on the silver screen. Add Karan Johar to the mix and you have a surefire hit. But come on, what is the film industry going to explore next, the common cold?

Raajneeti

A modern-day political rendition of the Mahabharata, Raajneeti boasts of an A-list star cast – Ajay Devgan, Arjun Rampal, Ranbir Kapoor, Nana Patekar, Vivek Oberoi, Manoj Bajpai and Katrina Kaif. The movie will use the dilemmas the characters in the book went through, and draw parallels with it in reel life. Katrina Kaif is reportedly playing the role of Sonia Gandhi in the movie. After all both of them are quite similar: accent – check; powerful woman – check; foreign descent – check; relationship with Salman Khan – no one really knows.

Kites

Kites follows the story of Hrithik Roshan, a salsa dancer who falls in love with his student. Language barriers don’t matter here, love conquers almost all. But ‘something’ happens and it’s up to another student Kangna Ranaut to save the day. Maybe Sussanne walks into the movie or some other terrifying event occurs, we don’t know yet. But we hope the movie does better than Hrithik’s personal life.

Raavana

A modern day rendition of the mythological text, Raavana will get Aishwariya and Abhishek on the silver screen together for the first time after getting hitched. The movie has been plagued with problems – floods, elephants stomping around the set, maybe a higher power is sending a message through all of this. We won’t say anything, let the box-office decide.

Action replay

In Action Replay, a man ages backwards… Hmm, let’s see where have we heard this story before? A clear rip-off of the Hollywood hit, Benjamin Button, the film will feature Akshay Kumar and Aishwarya Rai. Director Vipul Shah is back with Akshay Kumar and hopes his dream run will continue.

Teen Patti

As much as producer Ambika Hinduja denies it, Teen Patti’s plot seems like a rip-off of the Hollywood blockbuster 21. The film features three ace actors, Ben Kingsley (supposedly not doing a cameo), Big B and Madhavan. With the help of a unique algorithm, Amitabh who plays a mathematical genius leads a team of college students to make a lot of money. Does Amitabh hold the algorithm for the movie’s success or will this be just another failed spin-off?

Houseful

Akshay Kumar has a slew of releases lined up next year and Houseful, the laugh-riot is one of them. The story follows Akshay who is very unlucky in life and is trying to find true love. The women helping him achieve this goal are Deepika Padukone, Lara Dutta and Jiah Khan. In real life, however, we think it’s the other way around. Akshay will end up teaching Deepika more than two expressions, Lara how to sign movies and Jiah Khan how not to be dropped from the one-odd film she has signed.

No Problem

Anees Bazmee has three mega comedy films lined up next year. One of them is No Problem which has quite a star cast – Anil Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Akshaye Khanna, Sushmita Sen, Kangna Ranaut, Paresh Rawal and Sunil Shetty. The film is a love story of impossible proportions. Another impossible proposition is Kangna actually makes people laugh after making them weep all these years.

Well Done Abba

Shyam Benegal has been travelling the world with his latest film, Well Done Abba. The satirical movie sees Boman Irani play two roles. Fitting two Bomans in one shot is a feat in itself and a testament to Benegal’s directorial skills. The movie follows the journey of Armaan Ali, a driver from Mumbai, who is out to find his daughter’s (Minissha Lamba) beau. Minissha, who has been alternating between commercial and semi-art house cinema, is reportedly playing a strong role in the film.

Guzaarish

The film that is loosely based on Whose Life is it Anyway? has Hrithik playing a paraplegic radio jockey. The film seems like a cry-till-your-tearbuds-dry-out movie – it explores the dilemma of euthanasia. Hrithik who believes in challenging himself till the cows come home, reportedly, spent hours in the wheelchair when not required to shoot, to get into the head of the character. Hrithik and Aishwarya reunite after Dhoom 2, and with Sanjay Leela Bhansali directing, it becomes one of the most awaited films in 2010, never mind Saawariya.

Road, Movie

Indian cinema has been through many fascinating twists and turns but none quite as romantic as touring cinemas. Essentially this means that the owner of one mounts the film projector on the back of a truck and the projectionist travels the length and breadth of a state with the truck, stops wherever there is a pilgrimage or a mela and projects the films he is carrying onto a white curtain which is then viewed by the locals sitting on both sides of the screen. Dev Benegal has made Road, Movie about one such projectionist (Satish Kaushik) and the young owner (Abhay Deol) and the adventures they have as they show their movies. The film has been very well received on the festival circuit.

Anjaana Anjaani

After playing twelve characters in What’s Your Raashee?, we’re sure Priyanka Chopra has become a stranger to herself, especially after the film tanked. Siddharth Anand, director of Ta Ra Rum Pum and Salaam Namaste, tries a romcom with Anjaana Anjaani. Starring Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka, the film shows two strangers who fall in love and the journey they take together.

Aisha

Abhay Deol’s love for Delhi continues with his Bollywood release, Aisha where he plays another spoilt, rich Delhi brat. His character is modelled on Mr Knightly from Jane Austen’s novel, Emma. The movie is a romantic comedy that explores horrible mismatches. It also has a strong female role that has been bagged by Sonam Kapoor. Whether Sonam is strong enough for the film after two failed films (read: Saawariya and Delhi-6) is another matter.

Khelein hum jee jaan sey

Ashutosh Gowariker is no stranger to large canvasses (think Lagaan, Swades, Jodhaa Akbar) so it’s no surprise that he is now filming another humongous project, Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey, which revolves around the Chittagong Uprising in the pre Independence days. After What’s Your Raashee?, this is another film adapted from a book, Do and Die by Manini Chatterjee. Abhishek Bachchan and Deepika Padukone lead the star cast and Nitin Chandrakant Desai leads the crew. Hopefully Ashutosh’s version of history will not be challenged, the way Jodhaa Akbar was.

Knock out

Inspired’ from the Hollywood masterpiece Phone Booth, Mani Shankar will look to re-create the magic in Bollywood. A man is trapped inside a phone booth, not because the door is stuck, but an assassin has a sniper rifle trained on him. Kangna plays the role of a journalist, Irrfan plays a cop and Sanjay Dutt the assassin.

I Hate Luv Storys

A true-blue rom-com, I Hate Luv Storys brings together the very glamourous Sonam Kapoor and the man with the melting eyes, Imran Khan. Described as a love story not meant to happen but which does happen, it is the story of a man who does not believe in love and a girl who does. They meet on a film set; a milieu the director Punit Malhotra is very familiar with, having cut his teeth on Karan Johar’s sets as an assistant director; and sparks fly.

1-800-Love

When you have a tag line that says, ‘From the makers of Ghajini and Jaane Tu…’ you know you’re in for a commercial roller-coaster. Abbas Tyrewala dons the director’s hat for 1-800-LOVE again and the music score is Rahman’s handiwork. A telephone call connects two people – one who wants to die, the other who is searching for meaning in life. They meet, fall in love, yada yada… If you are watching the movie and you get bored of John Abraham’s three expression repertoire, close your eyes and maybe the music will do the trick for you.

Tees Maar Khan

Tees Maar Khan has gotten more publicity that it ever dreamed of just because Shah Rukh Khan is not playing a role in Farah Khan’s film. But it does seem like SRK has rubbed off on the new lead actor, Akshay Kumar. Kumar plays a ‘stylish’ (metrosexual) conman in the film. He will be joined by Akshaye Khanna, but the female lead has not yet been confirmed.

Hook Ya Crook

Finally, Bollywood gets a movie that shows hope in combining two things that Indians love best – cinema and cricket. Viraj Pradhan (John Abraham) dreams of being a cricketer but is a repeat offender who gets thrown into a maximum security prison. The jail is a haven for cricket players, but Viraj wants much more, he wants to be part of the men in blue. The film has reportedly roped in Indian cricketers for the movie but going by the ads on TV, the word ‘acting talent’ isn’t part of the Indian cricket team’s vocabulary.

Producer Ahmed Khan and lead actor Shahid Kapoor have donated school utilities used for their film to three schools that needed them

By Sonal Chawla (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 31, 2009)

Although choreographer-turned-producer Ahmed Khan’s Paathshala’s shooting is over, the props used for the film’s shooting are still in use. Ahmed and Shahid Kapoor, the film’s lead actor, donated the props used for the film – school bags, notebooks, benches and stationery to three needy schools teaching underprivileged children. The film is directed by Milind Ukey.

Paathshala deals with contemporary and socially relevant issues regarding children’s education. Ahmed had erected a massive set of a school at Film City where classrooms, dormitories, the principal’s cabin, staff rooms, huge corridors, a basket ball court, garden, assembly hall, music room and canteen were recreated.

Ahmed says, “We had several benches, school uniforms, school bags, notebooks and stationery that we used for the film. After the shooting, we decided to donate all these basic school utility items to the underprivileged kids studying in schools.”

The items have been donated to two schools in Mumbai, one in Malad and the other in Malvani and a third school (a nursery), on the outskirts of Pune.

“We had several children acting in our film. Some were child actors who auditioned for the part, while others were underprivileged kids from the slums. It was because of the latter that we decided to help the needy schools. Apart from the benches that we made for the film, we made some more benches at our cost and donated them as well. Why not help them out in our small way by providing basic infrastructure?” adds Ahmed. The film also stars Ayesha Takia and Nana Patekar.

It seems there is more to Prakash Jha’s claim that Vidhu Vinod Chopra removed the trailer of Jha’s Raajneeti than meets the eye.

While Prakash claims Vidhu Vinod felt threatened by and insecure enough about the trailer of Raajneeti to have it removed from 3 Idiots, the Chairman of Reliance Big Pictures (who are the distributors of 3 Idiots) Amit Khanna, says they had never committed to Jha to show the trailer. “Whom in our company has Prakash Jha spoken to about the Raajneeti trailer going into the prints of 3 Idiots? He hasn’t spoken to me. And I am not aware of anyone at Reliance whom he has spoken to. How can there be any commitment on the screening of a trailer? It all depends on the paid advertisements that individual theatres have. We certainly made no such commitment to Prakash Jha.”

Adds Khanna, “We’ve released 3 Idiots with a record number of prints, 2000 in all. In fact December has been a very fruitful month for us at Reliance Big Pictures, first Paa and now 3 Idiots. Just goes to prove, quality products do have a strong market.”

The question is, if Reliance says it had never agreed to the screening of the Raajneeti trailer with 3 Idiots, why is Prakash Jha accusing Vidhu Vinod Chopra of feeling threatened and insecure of the response that the trailer got at some screenings of 3 Idiots?

Jha maintains his trailer was a victim of Chopra’s insecurities. Jha, who was recording the background music for his film in the US, is left wondering where the trailer could be fastened now.

Speaking from London, Prakash Jha says, “I suppose my trailer would be released independently in theatres, like any other trailer. In any case this was a 90-second teaser and not a full-fledged trailer.”

Prakash completely blames Vinod Chopra for the fiasco. “He’s very unpredictable. When we spoke about the trailer, he sent me a sweet message about it. Then just days before the release of 3 Idiots, my trailer had been pulled out. Apparently, at the previews of 3 Idiots people just couldn’t stop talking about the Raajneeti trailer after it was screen during interval.”

But the trailer, claims Jha, is very much part of the prints of 3 Idiots gone abroad.

“The prints had already left by the time Vinod Chopra decided to take my trailer out,” explains Prakash. “I don’t know why he was so insecure about my trailer since 3 Idiots carries such strong advance reports. I guess my Raajneeti is the biggest multi-starrer in recent times. We do have Ajay Devgn, Arjun Rampal, Nana Patekar, Naseeruddin Shah and Manoj Bajpai. And we have the winning pair Ranbir and Katrina. I guess I’m lucky.”

After going through several unpredictable but similar events, Mani Ratnam’s Raavana and Prakash Jha’s Rajneeti may be released in the same month i.e. in May 2010

By Meena Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 25, 2009)

Raavana

Mani Ratnam’s Raavana, which is an adaptation of the Ramayana and Prakash Jha’s Rajneeti that is based on the Mahabharata, will release between two weeks of each other.

Initially, both the films were expected to hit the theatres in February 2010. But, due to the multiplex owners strike and a complex melee of other things the two epic films have been pushed to May 2010.

Trade circles are excited as the contemporary versions of the most followed Indian mythological tales will be pitted against one another. Raavana is very important for Aishwarya, who is playing Sita. So is Rajneeti for Katrina. An actor from the unit said, “Rajneeti is a very taut confrontation drama which will showcase Katrina in new light.”

Rajneeti

The two films have had their fair share of controversies. Nana Patekar walked out of Rajneeti three days before the film’s shooting came to an end, whereas, Bipasha Basu had to exit Raavana hours before the shoot.

Floods ravaged the sets of Raavana; and Manoj Bajpai’s accident put a small spoke in Rajneeti’s progress. And yet when it comes to the release, both films are expected to release around the same time.